


fall that way

by luckybarton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Ironstrange if you squint, Mental Health Issues, Not Canon Compliant, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Infinity War (Marvel), References to Depression, Stephen Strange is a good bro, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 08:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14733449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckybarton/pseuds/luckybarton
Summary: Inexplicably, Stephen keeps coming back.





	fall that way

Tony remembers the first time he met Stephen Strange. He wishes he didn’t, because he made a fucking fool of himself that evening. It was a party, or a gala, or _something._ The details are blurry because it was a long time ago. Long enough ago that he was still drinking. Okay, so, the point— 

—the point is, he was at an event and got _too_ drunk, the kind of drunk where was just gone far enough to make a complete ass of himself and remember it as well. It must have been a gala, or some function for a charity, because Strange had been talking to a reporter, who was talking to a camera. And Tony had shouted his name, several times. And Stephen had looked at the camera and said, “that’s Tony Stark, everyone.”

It was only one thing in a long list of public gaffes, but Pepper hadn’t been happy. Obadiah had been even less pleased. And, well. It was one hell of a first impression.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t Stephen’s first impression of him. Maybe one of his machines had pissed him off first. Maybe he’d seen Tony or one of his engineers present at a medical conference. Stark Industries had never been _only_ a weapons company.

In any case, any encounters that came after were brief, businesslike, and as short as possible.

And then shit happened. Shit always happens, Tony thinks, something _always_ has to fail, to break. To fall from the fucking sky.

And suddenly they weren’t just on speaking terms, but sure-I-don’t-care-if-you-want-to-sit-in-my-workshop terms. It was an honor bestowed on very few people, even though they rarely took him up on it.

Stephen can lift heavy things with magic. This is useful more often than Tony would like to admit.

The last time Tony Stark meets Stephen Strange hasn’t happened yet, but he's always convinced that every time Stephen leaves, he’s gone for good. He looks at everyone like that now, though.

Stephen gives him warning before he visits now, which gives Tony the chance to pick himself off the floor—or his bed, or a couch, but it’s honestly usually the floor—and look like he’s been doing something else. But, yeah. He spends an inordinate amount of time on the ground, convincing himself he still exists. Still wants to exist.

FRIDAY has things to say about this, but he doesn’t listen to her much. And maybe, if he just stays here for long enough, he really will disappear.

_This is Tony Stark, everyone._

He knows he could do worse things than just lie here. He's in the workshop. But he doesn’t.

Stephen has a routine now, which is: he’ll (text? call? magic?) FRIDAY, who tells Tony that he’s coming. Then he teleports in a few minutes later, and makes sandwiches with Tony’s food from Tony’s fridge. Tony isn’t sure if wizards make a lot of money, so he doesn’t press the issue. He suspects, however, that Stephen could pull them from thin air if he tried.

Instead, he makes sure that there’s food in it. Which is more than he’d do otherwise.

And then Tony eats the sandwich to be polite, and they talk about things, and Tony works on some machine. And then, after a while, he leaves.

Eventually, Tony ascertains that Stephen is using magic to contact FRIDAY, which adds up because the guy doesn’t seem to have a phone. What doesn’t add up is how that even works, because he doesn’t seem to be using any of the protocols Tony designed. Oh well.

He talks to other people, too. He doesn’t spend all his time in the workshop, because he has meetings, and he has people in R&D wanting to talk to him and present to him. And Pepper, who...

...it wasn’t meant to last.

There’s an ache, though, beneath his skin, that only gets worse when he’s around people. He looks it up and gets results for rashes.

Neither of them is the hugging type, really, but the next time Stephen is there, he asks Tony how he is with touch. Which, considering the state of their relationship—conversation and sandwiches and 5-minute notices—was a non-sequitur. And neither of them is exactly the hugging type. But it lessens the ache, and he guesses that maybe, just maybe, Stephen is as lonely as he is.

It turns out that FRIDAY and Stephen are just conspiring behind his back, but he’s tired enough that he just threatens to donate her to a community center and shouts at Stephen, who doesn’t teleport away like he expects but stands there and takes it.

Stephen says he’s concerned.

Tony tells him to buy his own damn sandwich ingredients.

He comes back later. With bread and cheese and fucking lettuce.

 _A wizard thinks he needs to see a therapist._ Tony thinks that’s the funniest shit he ever heard, and laughs for far too long before he ends up crying and spilling his guts to Stephen, who _really_ doesn’t know what to do with that, but doesn’t leave.

Stephen remembers the first time he met Tony Stark and finds it amusing. Tragedy plus time.

Tony phones the therapist _that the wizard recommended._ Because this is his life now.

 

Inexplicably, Stephen still keeps coming back.

**Author's Note:**

> The start was inspired by [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Bj7Ca-6MY).


End file.
